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CONFESSION
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS CONFESSION STUDY. MOST HAVE
HEARD OF CONFESSION BUT MANY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE CONFESSION
PROCEDURE IS. LET US
SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF CONFESSION TOGETHER, SHALL WE?
Confession
is the act of admitting your sins to unburden your
conscience. The question is, what does the Bible say
concerning confession?
THE OLD
WAY
In the Old
Testament, according to the law, the children of Israel were
to confess their sins and bring an offering to the priest,
who in turn made an atonement (reconciliation or amends with
God) for their sin.
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Leviticus 5:5-6
And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of
these things, that he shall confess that he hath
sinned in that thing: And he shall bring his trespass
offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath
sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of
the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall
make an atonement for him concerning his sin. |
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Leviticus 16:21-22
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of
the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities
of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the
hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat
shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the
wilderness. |
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Leviticus 26:40-42
If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity
of their fathers, with their trespass which they
trespassed against me, and that also they have walked
contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary
unto them, and have brought them into the land of
their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be
humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of
their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with
Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my
covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will
remember the land. |
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Numbers 5:6-7
Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman
shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass
against the LORD, and that person be guilty; Then they
shall confess their sin which they have done: and he
shall recompense his trespass with the principal
thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and
give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. |
As
shameful and embarrassing as it may be, our human nature
compels us to want to confess our sins. Unless we confess,
our conscience holds on to feelings of guilt, and who can
serve the Lord effectively with a guilty conscience?
WHO ARE
YOU APOLOGIZING TO?
King David
spoke of confessing ...
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Psalms 32:5
I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have
I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my
sin. Selah. |
Notice that
David says that he confessed to the LORD and
was forgiven. He doesn't mention confessing to a priest.
Does that mean that David didn't follow the law of the Lord
in the Old Testament concerning confession?
Well, being God's anointed and the apple of His eye, it's
probably safe to assume that David also made confession to a
priest, but the important thing to understand here, is that
confession to a priest was a symbolic procedure and the
priest was the only one allowed beyond the veil in the Holy
of Holies (where the presence of God was in the Tabernacle
of the congregation), but Jesus is now the mediator of the
New Covenant and it is HE and HE alone that we must send our
prayers through.
HE is the
priest.
The BRIDGE
to God.
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Hebrews 9:15
And for
this cause He is the mediator of the new testament,
that by means of death, for the redemption of the
transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of
eternal inheritance. |
Don't
forget who you're apologizing to. When you're making a
confession, which is actually part of an apology, doesn't it
make sense that you would apologize to the One that you
sinned against? (If you hurt your Father, you wouldn't go to
your brother and confess, and never apologize to your
Father.)
God knows
everything we do, so when we think we're hiding sin from
Him, we're only fooling ourselves. You'll find that as long
as you think you're concealing something from the Lord,
things won't go very smoothly in your life. Solomon confirms
that there is no gain in hiding sin, and that confession is
the door to Grace.
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Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. |
THE NEW
WAY
The first
mention of confession in the New Testament is when John the
Baptist was preaching in Jerusalem, and people from all
around came to the river Jordan confessing their sins and
being baptized (being renewed in Spirit).
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Matthew 3:4-6
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and
a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was
locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him
Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round
about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins. |
Keep in
mind that this was before Jesus began His ministry, so
people weren't aware of the New Testament yet. A Testament
is not valid until the Testator is dead.
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Hebrews 9:16-17
For where a
testament is, there must also of necessity be the
death of the testator. For a testament is of force
after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at
all while the testator liveth. |
In
addition, there hadn't been a Prophet of the Lord around
since Malachi, some 400 years earlier, so the people were
elated to have communication from God once again. Just
imagine how they must have felt for that long period of time
... probably like the Lord had turned His face from them and
like mercy was far away. Confession would naturally be the
first thing one would want to do, in hope that the Lord
wouldn't keep silence anymore.
SPILLING YOUR HEART
In the New
Testament, you'll find that we're still to confess our sins:
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1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. |
But you'll
find nothing in the New Testament that requires confessing
to a specific HUMAN person of authority or priest. Unless
you interpret this one incorrectly.
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James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for
another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. |
This is a
very interesting scripture. If you were to read the verses
before and after this one, you'd find that James was
speaking about people who are ill. So this speaks of
bringing faults to light. Which is different from repenting
and confession that is to be directed only to the Lord.
Don't wait
to confess your sins to your Father. The very moment you
come back into the light after you have sinned, reveal it to
Him and ask His forgiveness and let the healing begin.
Always
remember that God judges the heart of every matter.
For those
who feel like there has to be a sting if you repent as to
obtain Grace, first you must ask yourself if God would
rather you wallow in punishment or sorrow for a time, or
would He rather you sincerely repent, learn your lesson and
get on with serving Him? In short, would God rather punish
you, or forgive you? Your repentance is sting enough. Would
you require more of your child?
In the
story of the Prodigal Son that Jesus told, the father
represents God (Luke
15:11-32). Notice that the father in the story knew
that his son was sorry for what he had done, and before the
son even confessed anything, just knowing that his son was
repentant, the father forgave him.
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Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was
yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him. |
He required
no more sorrow or continued apology or anything, but was
just elated that the lost soul of his son was found again,
and from that moment, celebration was in order, not ridicule
or punishment or severity or continuance. In Grace, we focus
on the hope and resolve to change, not on doubt or
mistrust.
Still think
there be a sting before Grace? Look at the last thing the
father said to the elder brother who was jealous of the
freely given grace that his father had given to his younger
brother:
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Luke 15:32
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad:
for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and
was lost, and is found. |
Sincere
repentance brings Grace and life. Your father wants you to
earnestly desire to change and forsake the sin that you're
confessing because you love Him, not because you fear
punishment.
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2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to Salvation not
to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death. |
Godly
sorrow is being sincerely sorry for hurting God.
TOO
EASY?
Some folks
just can't believe that God's Grace is so freely given.
Is anything
that YOU can do, the determining factor of whether you
obtain Grace from your Father other than asking for
forgiveness?
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Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast. |
Simply put
... You are forgiven because of your Faith, it is a gift ...
A gift is not something that is earned, it is given freely.
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Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation. |
THE MAIN THING
How do we
look at confession? Is it a commandment of the New
Testament? According to the Bible, well ... you decide:
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Matthew 22:36-40
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the Prophets. |
In the New
Testament, remember it says that we ARE to confess our sins
... It is something you must CHOOSE to do for yourself.
Repentance
means to be sorry for one's sins and faults. It is a humble
realization of and regret for one's wrongdoing. Just as
importantly, it is a resolve to change. When John the
Baptist came preaching the new way, preparing THE WAY of the
Lord, the importance of his message was in the confession of
sins and repentance.
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Matthew 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance ... |
Jesus
stressed the importance of repentance over and over again:
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Luke 13:3
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish. |
Luke 15:7
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven
over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety
and nine just persons, which need no repentance. |
Luke 24:44-47
And He said unto them, These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled, which were written in the
law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms,
concerning me. Then opened He their understanding,
that they might understand the scriptures, And said
unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third
day: And that repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in His name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. |
Peter
rehearsed what he learned from the Lord to us about
repentance:
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Acts 3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall
come from the presence of the Lord. |
What's the
bottom line? God knows and judges your heart. All He
requires is your sincere repentance, your belief in Jesus
Christ, and a willingness to change so that you may be a
better servant to Him.
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Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every
knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess
to God. |
Take
care and have a SON-derful day
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